"For better, for worse." She nuzzled her face against his neck. "Oh, Joe, I am so sorry that things turned out the way they did. I didn't mean for any of that to happen. I've brought so much down upon you since our meeting." She sighed and pulled away, "I love you. You're the only person who truly understands me even after all of this. We'll do this together."

Standing in the hall of a house that was no longer theirs, Joe held his beloved close. The odors of stale air and dust mixed with her perfume to create an odd scent. Still, it meant that he could stop, even for a moment, and silence the rising dread inside him that screamed from the darkness "Ye fuckin' failure! No job! Now no home! Next stop work'ouse!"

After all what sort of a man could not be a provider?

She pulled away and took his hand, leading him to her bedchamber where she pulled away and began to strip to her chemise. Then she slipped into her bed and curled up on the side she seemed most comfortable to sleep on with him, which was the left side. She sighed and said, "I just want you to hold me."

Being newly married, young, firm, and fertile, Pearl's actions should have been enticing enough to Joe to suggest they celebrate as only a husband and wife should.. Truthfully, the excitement of the day had just about knackered him like an old cart horse. Without complaint, he followed her upstairs. He was too tired to care that most of his clothes were piled atop an empty suitcase in Osway Street. He stripped down and joined her in bed. Joe heard her request and bounced his body awkwardly across the mattress to comply. When he was close enough, he whispered so only she could hear.

"Same."

She curled into him and sighed softly. She too was beyond knackered out from the excitement. She was reunited with Joe and that was all that mattered. She wrapped an arm and a leg around him and tangled her heel between the backs of his calves. She made no move to do anything naughty; they had the rest of their lives for that. Pearl then fell into a deep slumber.

The next morning came and Pearl drew a bath while he still slept. She remembered the jar she had stashed somewhere after the work she had done and some of the pin money she had withdrawn before all of this. She then started gathering all the damned gowns she had not worn yet and sorted through them, deciding she would sell them back to the seamstress. She didn't need them anymore anyway.

And then she grabbed paper... scrawling away until she had a figure in mind, and then nodding firmly.

And then her stomach growled and she cooked breakfast for the two of them. She brought the food up the stairs and moved to sit next to him. "Joe... Joe..." she repeated a few times and gently touched his face. "You hungry?"

His wife's gentle prodding brought Joe out of sleep with a snort or three. That's right, he was married. This is nice.

"Mornin'" he said with a sleepy smile from underneath half open eyes. After a moment, the aromas of strong tea and food woke him even further.

"Oooh, tea. Thank ye." he hoisted himself upright eventually taking the cup offered. As he swallowed the brown liquid, he became more aware of his surroundings and his mind. All of the garbage they were dealing with yesterday was still there to be dealt with. First breakfast.

"Lovely."

She gave him a chance to eat and then said, "If I can get half as much money back for my gowns as I think I can, we can have enough money to live a modestly comfortable life for at least six months. But..." she sat on the side of the bed, "I don't want to exhaust that money with what might happen in the future." She was, after all, her father's daughter, and the man, while not smart with his family, was smart with his money. "All is not lost. We will just... both have to get jobs, that is all. I am a fast learner."

Reality came back fast as Joe drank his morning cup. He quietly blinked at the enormity of the task ahead of them. But Joe was young and strong. Even if the railway didn't take him back, and they might not, given the Carrington fiasco, surely someone could use a good pair of hands and a strong back.

"We will, I'm sure."

She gave a bright smile and sat on the bed carefully so as not to knock anything over. Then her smile dimmed and she murmured, "It will be alright, my love." Her hand touched his. "You're a good, strong man and I love you for it that much more. You are my family now." Her mouth curled gently upward again and she gently brushed his knuckles with her thumb, "Its going to be tough in some ways but as long as we have each other, we'll get through it. I love you, Joe."

Fortified by his wife's breakfast, Joe headed to the railway station. Pearl was actually quite a good cook, so his new situation weren't entirely hopeless. His pace this morning was quick, perhaps motivated by the prospect of starvation and homelessness. He even wore a tie to show he could scrub up nicely. He saw some faces at the station he recognised, but he didn't say hello or acknowledge them. He couldn't bear to look them in the eyes. Between him and the bottom of a pint of best, it was probably the shame of being dismissed in the first place.

"I'm sorry, Mister Blacke, but no." Meekford replied, looking down his long nose. "Despite the recent unpleasantness, your reemployment would cause disruption among the staff."

Joe's chair was suddenly too hard, the room too small, the air too thick.

"When I was 'ere last, there was a vacancy at West Cliff-"

"-Which has since been filled."

"Mister Meekford, I'm not above beggin', What about the shi- man who looks after t' cattle over in goods, no one wanted that job."

Shovelling cow and horse dung was smelly work, but it was work.

"That post has been filled. Again, I'm sorry. If it's any consolation, I'm sure you'll find suitable employment."

Being rejected a second time didn't hurt as much. He knew this might happen. Right? It still hurt his pride.